This year Shabbos Parshas Pekudei is also Shabbos HaChodesh, which as its name implies is associated with the concept of renewal.
HaChodesh points to the importance of setting forth on new frontiers and expanding one's horizons.
And that message is further reinforced by the fact that this Shabbos is the Shabbos on which we bless the month of Nissan, "the month of redemption," the month in which the Jews were redeemed from Egypt, and the month in which they will be redeemed in the future. (See Medrash Shmos Rabbah 15:11).
Moreover, Nissan is a month associated with miracles, (Talmud, Berachos 57a) a step above the limits of the natural order.
May these factors combine to bring about the renewal which is most necessary at the present time: the complete recovery of the Rebbe Shlita and the enhancement of his leadership of our people, when he will lead us all to Eretz Yisrael in the ultimate Redemption.
25 Adar, 5754
Adapted from Likkutei Sichos, Vol. XXI, p. 250ff;
Sefer HaSichos 5749, p. 313ff;
Sichos Shabbos Parshas Pekudei 5743;
Sichos Shabbos Parshas Vayakhel, 5752
What is the true importance of every individual?
On one hand, our society often exaggerates the importance of self, putting a great emphasis on the gratification of one's goals and aspirations.
In actual life, however, many people feel dwarfed by their surroundings, utterly small in face of the burgeoning sea of experience to which contemporary life exposes us.
This question receives focus in this week's Torah reading, Parshas Pekudei.
The word pekudei means "reckoning," "the account of the sums of gold, silver, and brass donated for the Sanctuary, and the account of all its utensils, and its services." [1]
After the construction of the Sanctuary was completed, the Torah gives an overview of all its particulars.
A reckoning involves an interplay of antithetical concepts.
For the fact a reckoning is required indicates the existence of a multitude of individual elements. The focus of the reckoning, however, is not on the multitude, but rather on the individual entities which comprise it.
And yet, this focus on the individual should not be to the exclusion of the whole.
On the contrary, the ultimate importance of all these individual elements stems from the fact that they are included in the Sanctuary and function as part of that whole.
On one hand, the Sanctuary as a whole is dependent on its individual elements.
If one of those elements, no matter how insignificant it appears, is lacking, the Sanctuary as a whole is incomplete, and unfit to serve as a resting place for G-d's Presence.
Simultaneously, the whole which is forged by the combination of these different elements represents a new entity that is far more than an aggregate of its components.
When brought together, the different elements of the Sanctuary are granted a measure of importance that surpasses their individual qualities. For as parts of the Sanctuary, each element fosters the revelation of G-d's Presence.
Every person's heart is described as "a sanctuary in microcosm,"
[2] and all the dimensions of the Sanctuary's worship are reflected in our divine service.
[3]
Similarly, with regard to the above concepts, every individual must appreciate that he is far greater than his individual self.
He contains the potential to serve as the medium for the revelation of G-d's Presence within our world.
How is that potential realized?
When the person
- develops his own potential to the utmost, shouldering all the responsibility that he has been given;
- he joins together with others, becoming part of a greater whole.
The importance of the latter dimension is also highlighted in Parshas Vayakhel.
[4]
Thus it is more than coincidence that these two Torah readings are often combined and read together on a single Shabbos.
On one hand, their messages may appear contradictory: Vayakhel emphasizes the fusion of individuals into a collective, while Pekudei underscores the personal contribution of every individual.
These two thrusts are, in fact, supportive rather than conflicting.
For a collective will be incomplete unless it includes every individual, [5] and every one of those individuals develops himself to the fullest.
Simultaneously, an individual must realize that he cannot reach his own consummate fulfillment unless he joins together with others. [6]
The possibility of forging a unified whole from divergent entities stems from the fact that, in essence, each of the individual entities shares a fundamental connection.
To explain the concept in the human sphere:
Every person's soul is "an actual part of G-d." [7]
Therefore, despite the particular differences between individuals, they are bound together by this basic commonalty.
Similarly, in the world at large, every creation is maintained by G-d's creative energy, and this generates the potential for unity.
As mentioned, the reckoning of Parshas Pekudei includes "the account of the sums of the gold, silver, and brass donated for the Sanctuary, and the account of all its utensils, and its services."
First, a reckoning was made of the resources available, and then an inventory was taken of how these resources were used.
These concepts are also relevant in our divine service.
First, a person must make an account of his potentials; he must know who he is and what he can do.
Afterwards, from time to time, he must calculate how these potentials have been employed and what he has accomplished with them.
The sequence is also significant.
For the awareness of the existence of one's potential serves as a prod, spurring its implementation in deed and action.
The Torah reading begins:
[8] "This is the reckoning of the Sanctuary... which was calculated by Moshe," i.e., the reckoning of the different elements of the Sanctuary - and correspondingly, the reckoning of the potentials of every particular individual - is dependent on the input of Moshe Rabbeinu.
It is Moshe Rabbeinu, the Torah leader of the Jewish people, who arouses the inner G-dly potential that every individual possesses.
And after all the elements of the Sanctuary were completed, it was Moshe who actually erected it, and initiated its service.
For it is Moshe's leadership which guides the expression of this inner potential and encourages its interaction with that of others in a synergistic whole.
Parshas Pekudei does not conclude with the reckoning of the construction of the Sanctuary, it mentions two further points:
- that "the cloud rested upon it, and the glory of G-d filled the Sanctuary," [9] i.e., the Sanctuary became a resting place for the Divine Presence, and
- "When the cloud arose... the children of Israel set forth on all their journeys," [10] that our divine service requires constant progress.
These two points are fundamental to the reckoning of his divine service that every person must make.
He must know that the ultimate goal is the revelation of G-d's Presence. And he must realize that it is impossible to rest on his laurels. Instead, the revelation of G-d's Presence involves a continual thrust forward.
Ultimately, as we "proceed from strength to strength," [11] we will "appear before G-d in Zion," in the Third Beis HaMikdash with the coming of the Redemption.
Notes:
- (Back to text) Rashi, Exodus 38:21.
- (Back to text) For the Torah states (Exodus 25:8) "And you shall make Me a Sanctuary and I will dwell within." A plural form for the word "within" is used, implying that G-d causes His Presence to rest, not only within the Sanctuary, but within the heart of every individual.
- (Back to text) See the text Toras HaOleh authored by the Ramah, the commentary of Rabbeinu Bechaye to Parshas Terumah, and other works.
- (Back to text) See the previous essay in this series entitled, "More than Gathering Together."
- (Back to text) In Derech Mitzvosecho, mitzvas ahavas Yisrael, the Tzemach Tzedek employs the classic analogy of a human body to describe the Jewish people. As he emphasizes, a lack of well-being in one limb affects, not only that limb, but the organism as a whole.
- (Back to text) In this context, the sequence of the Torah readings is also significant. Vayakhel, the fusion into a collective, precedes Pekudei. Were a person to begin with self-concern, he might never leave the confines of his self-interest.
When, however, a goal above self is established first, self-development can proceed in a new and expanded framework.
- (Back to text) Tanya, ch. 2.
- (Back to text) Exodus 38:21.
- (Back to text) Exodus 40:35.
- (Back to text) Ibid.:36.
- (Back to text) Psalms 84:8.
Vayakhel - 5754